Say goodbye the right way!

How to say Goodbye to a client – the right way!

So you’re a service-based business and your client lets you know they no longer require your services – for whatever reason. That’s fine, it happens and we deal with it and wish them well in their future endeavours.

OR

How about offboarding them the right way? Who knows, they may come back to you one day.

The best way we suggest to offboard a client is in a friendly, warm and professional manner that is tidy and effective.

Here comes the ‘Offboarding Packet’

‘’What’s one of them?’’ I hear you say!

The simplest way to define it is the exact opposite of your onboarding process (packet). You will no longer welcome them to your services, but instead – thank them for being a valued client and let them know what happens next. (This works well to reduce the back-and-forth emails that can often follow when you stop working with someone). It’s efficient! ?

This is a really nice touch and will not only leave you feeling a sense of pride in making someone else feel valued but also gives them closure in the right way. Everything should have a clearly defined ending, right?

So, now you know what an offboarding packet does and why you should have one – let’s run through what it should include:

1. Above everything else – a ‘Goodbye’ message.

As a service-based business, we have the luxury of being able to properly connect and engage with clients, so it makes sense to be able to continue that connection beyond the initial working relationship if at all possible. Whether that be supporting one another through referrals or recommendations or just keeping in touch because you get along well and share similar values.

A little suggestion could be something like this:

“John,

It has been an absolute pleasure working with you on your CRM systems and your Kajabi course over the past 3 months. It’s been great, seeing it all come together and I am really excited to watch your business journey unfold over the next year and beyond!”

Before sending the package, make sure you detail in your email/call why you’re sending it. i.e That is provides answers to potential questions they may have, such as where info is stored, what happens to the access from your end etc.

2. Provide the list of outcomes and deliverables relevant to the support you have given them. Let them know where to find the things they need and what you feel should happen next. This will provide them with an understanding of the real value that you’ve provided through your support (who knows, they may come back, or refer others to you in the future)

In addition to this, why not send the outcomes or transformations you’ve made together too!?

3. Detail what you will or they will need to cancel/remove.

Maybe you have shared project management tools or you have access to their systems – in which case, remind them to remove access or remove you as an admin for those systems and let them know that you’ll do the same their end. You may find it useful to provide a list detailing the systems in a shared document that you can tick as you go through the process and both sign once complete.

4. Ask for a testimonial / Get feedback

Too many business owners don’t use this opportunity enough! If someone is leaving, this is an ideal time to ask them to provide some feedback (good or bad) this will either be something you can use for future marketing campaigns and as proof that you are as amazing as you tell people you are, (and why) or worst case, you get insight into what you may need to improve for the next client you get the blessing to work with! Either way, it’s a win, win.

5. Provide a list of your services

This is a no brainer – you may think it strange at first but chances are that your client came to you for something specific and the conversation never went beyond that. Maybe they weren’t aware that you also offer X, Y and Z and now that they know, they will think of you next time they need those services.

6. A goodbye card/gift or both!

Because who doesn’t appreciate and feel good when they receive a gift? It’ll make you stick in their mind as the one who went above and beyond.

I hope you find this useful and would love to hear if you have any questions or even tips on how you offboard your clients effectively?

Let me know in the comments.

#offboardingpacket #goodbye #offboardingclients #addvalue